Jeff and Kandie Mathis of Jacksonville, Florida and Robert and Pam Wiggins of Baxley are pleased to announce the engagement and forthcoming wedding of their children, Miss Alexandra Mathis, to Lt. Robert Wiggins III (Trey).
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Every once in a blue moon, members of Congress actually roll up their shirtsleeves and do something positive. Last week U.S. Senators Orin Hatch (R-Utah) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) introduced legislation to repeal a portion of Obamacare. The legislation, dubbed the American Job Protection Act, attempts to repeal the job-killing employer mandate that was included in the President’s $2.6 trillion health law, which requires businesses with 50 employees or more to provide health insurance of minimum value or pay a penalty between $2,000 and $3,000 for each employee working 30 hours or more per week.
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When I walk into a Weight Watchers meeting, the room is already set up. Chairs line the walls, products sit on the back table waiting for my perusal and/or purchase, and the flip chart of the week’s session awaits the appointed hour. In the back the leader and her assistant are already weighing members in, celebrating with those who lose and commiserating with those who gain. They smile and encourage as they efficiently do their jobs. We all know that they are doing jobs, of course. They are paid, as well they should be, but how fair is their pay? I’ve never heard Baxley’s local leaders complain, but a big outcry is sounding across the country among leaders who complain that they make less than minimum wage.
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I keep getting notices through my email that someone wants to be my friend on Facebook. Out of courtesy I almost always approve them even though I do not know them from a bucket of turpentine. Just this morning another request arrived and I went to the site and there, on the right side of the screen, was as ad stating that if I wanted to meet some nice ladies that wanted a faithful man to take care of them, that all I had to do was click on the picture. I thought about this for a minute and was about to click just to find out who might be available in the event my wife up and run off.
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I served on separate occasions as Chaplain of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate, which involved preaching to the House of Representatives and to the State Senate in their separate chambers in the Georgia State Capitol. I was serving as pastor of the North Baxley United Methodist Charge during those years.
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(Editor’s note: The following is a letter written by Thomas Anderson to President Obama. Anderson submitted the letter for publication.)

Dear Mr. President,

Since you are always comparing yourself to former President Abraham Lincoln, I thought I would enclose, for your reading, a copy of 10 guidelines as basic economic and sound financial policy. If we are to survive as a nation, we need to follow these 10 guidelines he left for us.
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Wanda H. Jones, 50, of Surrency, died Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 at her home. Wanda was born June 28, 1962 in Colquitt. Wanda was the daughter of the late Ralph and Peggy Henry. She was the office manager at Pet Dairy as well, as a loving wife, mother, grandmother and homemaker.
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Mrs. Mary Lee King Solomon was born on Nov. 21, 1942 in Surrency, to the late Willie and Beatrice Boykin King. God called Mary, a beautiful angel, into eternal rest on February 14, 2013. She was a faithful and devoted member of St. John Church of God in Christ in Baxley under the leadership of Elder W. H. Solomon.
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Homer “Pee Wee” Varnadore, 75, died Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Pee Wee was born Dec. 13, 1937 in Jeff Davis County to the late Homer Green Varnadore and the late Daisy Mae McDaniel Varnadore. He was a member of the Church of God of Prophecy. Varnadore was retired from AKZO. He was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, gardener and a provider. Pee Wee was preceded in death by his sister, Doretha Wills.
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The Appling County Board of Education (BOE) held its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, February 19, and during the meeting the low bid of $1.39 per gallon for propane by Sikes Propane was approved unanimously.
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On February 9 at approximately 10:53 a.m. officers met with a complainant at the Appling HealthCare System in reference to abandoned property. On arrival the complainant told officers that she had found a small red baggie with a white powdery substance in it. Officers conducted a field test on the substance, discovering it to be cocaine. The drug was seized and placed into evidence, pending further investigation. Anyone wishing to claim this package may do so, by coming by the Baxley Police Department, where officers would be happy to assist and serve them.
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During the regular meeting of the Baxley City Council on Feb. 26, the council adopted a resolution upon the City Manager Jeff Baxley’s recommendation for the submission of the 2013 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Baxley stated that Mittie Byrd Lane would be the priority, as it is still a dirt road and is in need of water and sewer. The manager also reported that Elizabeth Circle has also been looked at for submission for the CDBG. It is also a dirt street and in need of drainage and street improvements. However Mittie Byrd Lane would be the priority.
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It has been an extended period of time since the Altamaha River has surpassed the flood stage. A flood warning has been issued for the Altamaha River at Baxley until further notification. As of Monday the river stage was at 78.8 feet.
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